The Ledbury - May 2011

On Sunday 15th May 2011, we went to The Ledbury for lunch. This was our 3rd visit this year which probably indicates how much we like this restaurant! Head chef Brett Graham is a very talented chef. All the dishes we've tasted so far are really delicious and very well executed.
For Sunday lunch, they offer the choice between a Tasting Menu for £85 or a three course lunch for £40. This time, like our previous visit we chose to go for the three course lunch as the menu looked fantastic.
For starter my hubby ordered the signature dish "Flame Grilled Mackerel with Avocado, Celtic Mustard and Shiso" while I ordered the "Herefordshire Snails Wrapped in a Mousseline of Wild Herbs and Garlic with Roasting Juices and Celeriac".
The Flame Grilled Mackerel is such a tasty dish, the chef managed to create a sensasional dish with this humble fish. As for my snails, I thought they were OK but nothing special and I wouldn't order them again. I didn't think the mousseline of wild herbs & garlic was very tasty. Anyway, so far this is probably the only dish that I didn't think much of.

Flame Grilled Mackerel with Avocado, Celtic Mustard and Shiso



Herefordshire Snails Wrapped in a Mousseline of Wild Herbs and Garlic with Roasting Juices and Celeriac

For main course, my hubby ordered "John Dory Poached in Olive Oil with Blood Orange, Crab and Asparagus on Toast" while I ordered "Loin of Row Deer Baked in Douglas Fir with Wild Garlic Smoked Bone Marrow". Both main courses were really yummy. Each element on the plate was there for a reason. The Chef always puts something crunchy on the plate to provide a different texture to the dish, such as the crispy potatoes with the deer or the crunchy toast with the John Dory dish.

Dory Poached in Olive Oil with Blood Orange, Crab and Asparagus on Toast



Loin of Row Deer Baked in Douglas Fir with Wild Garlic Smoked Bone Marrow

When we were presented with the dessert menu, we both were a bit disappointed that there wasn't any Souffle on offer. On the two previous visits, they had Souflle on the menu and they were sensasional!
My hubby ordered "Pave of Chocolate with Milk Puree and Lovage" and I ordered "Three Small Brulees, Chicory, Vanilla and Barley Malt" as I had Pave of Chocolate twice before on previous visits. My hubby thought the Pave of Chocolate was very nice as it wasn't too rich or too heavy. My Brules were sensational! They were so smooth and tasty; they were probably the best Brules I've ever had! The different ice creams were also very nice.

Pave of Chocolate with Milk Puree and Lovage

Three Small Brulees, Chicory, Vanilla and Barley Malt

As usual, we enjoyed our lunch very much at The Ledbury. The service was efficient and professional without being stuffy. The bill came to about £110 for the two of us which is very good for a lunch of such quality.
We are planning to come back in August for our anniversary! Can't wait!

The Ledbury

127 Ledbury Road

London W11 2AQ

Tel: 020 7792 9090

http://www.theledbury.com/

Bordeaux - Easter 2011

Over Easter, my hubby and I went to Bordeaux to visit my family. We all love our food, it's in the family!
Before our visit, I planned all our meals with the help of my mother and sister! The meal plans consisted of eating-in with yummy Vietnamese dishes cooked by my mother and eating-out at restaurants.

On Friday evening, we ate at home. My mum made some Bi Cuon (Vietnamese shredded pork fresh rolls) and Bo Nhun Dam (Fillet of Beef cooked at the table in a hot vinegar broth. The beef is then rolled in a rice paper with lots of salad and aromartic herbs. The roll is then deeped in a fermented fish sauce called Mam Nem). For dessert, my sister bought a selection of patisseries.

On Saturday, for lunch we had oysters for starter and then some yummy roast pork belly with crackling which we ate with some rice vermicelli & lots of aromatic herbs. For dessert...more patisseries of course!

On Saturday evening, we ate at Restaurant L'Entrecote, the famous restaurant chain that serves a unique menu consisting of  a salad with walnut for starter and "Entrecote" steak with their secret sauce and pommes frites. It is a tradition that each time we visit my family we go there for dinner as we all love their steak with the secret sauce!

On Sunday, we went to St Emilion for lunch. We book a table at Logis de la Cadene. We ate at this restaurant many years ago and we always remember how delicious their "magret de canard grille au sarment" (duck breast grilled on vine shoots) was. We all ordered Duck Foie Gras for starter. For main course, my hubby and I ordered the duck breast grilled on vine shoots; it was as delicious as I remembered it. My mother and sister shared a delicious  Cote de Boeuf grilled on vine shoots. For dessert, my hubby and sister ordered three different creme brulees. My mother had sorbet and I ordered strawberries with a kind of zabaglione.

On Sunday evening, we ate Vietnamese at home. We had Mam Thai (Vietnamese fermented fish) with boiled pork belly. This dish is eaten with vermicelli and a lot of aromatic herbs.

On Monday, for lunch we had roast duck with egg noodles. In the evening, we had a bowl of Pho before flying back to London. So that was our meal plan!

Macaroons have been very popular in the past few years. We noticed many new shops selling macaroons. One of the shops even makes savoury macaroons. See pictures below:



Since we were in Bordeaux over Easter, we had to treat ourselves to some Easter chocolate at our favourite chocolatier: Cadiot Badie.



Leong's Legend II

Going to Leong's Legend II  to sample their Xiao Long Bao (Shanghainese steamed dumplings filled with pork and soup) has been on my list for a while since I read some positive reviews about them. Apparently they are not the best in the world but they are the best in London. Since we were in the viscinity of Chinatown last Saturday 16th April 2011, my hubby and I decided to have lunch at Leong's Legends II in order to sample their Xiao Long Bao.
Upon arrival, the waitress gave us the menu as well as an order sheet for us to tick dishes that we wanted to order.

This is what the order sheet looks like:

We ordered the Pork & Crab Xiao Long Bao, Taiwanese Mini Kebab with Pork, Taiwanese Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, Taiwanese Style Pork Chop Noodle Soup. For drinks, we ordered two Ice Pearl Milk Tea (with Tapioca).

The Iced Pearl Milk Tea arrived first. It was very nice and refreshing with just enough amount of condensed milk to make the tea slightly sweet.
The Xiao Long Bao was the first dish to arrive. Annoyingly, our noodle soups arrived shortly after the Xiao Long Bao so we had to hurry to eat the dumplings so that the noodle soup didn't get cold! Different sections of the kitchen are in charged of preparing different dishes. So there is no coordination as such, the dishes are ready when they are ready!
The Xiao Long Bao were very yummy...too bad we had to hurry to eat them in order to eat our noodle soup. My Taiwainese Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup was just OK, the noodles were well overcooked so they were mushy! However the beef & broth were not too bad.
As for the Taiwanese Style Pork Chop Noodle Soup, it came in two bits: the noodle soup in a bowl and the pork was served separately on a plate. The pork was basically very similar to a pork steak deep fried in breadcrumbs like the Japanese version. My husband quite enjoyed his noodle soup.
The Taiwanese Mini Kebab with Pork came last. They were quite good but I think we ordered quite a lot of food for the two of us! One portion would have been enough!
I wasn't tempted by any dessert as I was very full!

Here are the pictures of the dishes that we ordered:

Ice Pearl Milk Tea (with Tapioca) (£3.20)



The Pork & Crab Xiao Long Bao (£6.50)

Taiwanese Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (£5.20)

Taiwanese Style Pork Chop Noodle Soup (£6.50)

The Taiwanese Mini Kebab with Pork (£2.80)

The service was OK: no smile but efficient enough. We didn't expect great service in Chinatown anyway. The bill came to £33.22 including service charge. Not too bad for a good meal for two people.

We would definitely go back there if we are in Chinatown especially for the Xiao Long Bao.

Leong's Legend II
26 Lisle Street
London WC2

Tel: 020 7734 3380

http://www.restaurantprivilege.com/leongs-legend/home.html